Calc; Emacs has big-number support

Calc; Emacs has big-number support

[David Kastrup]

Please describe exactly what actions triggered the bug and the
precise symptoms of the bug.  If possible, include a backtrace by
doing `\[toggle-debug-on-error]', then reproducing the bug.


With big number support native to Emacs, the number support primitives
should no longer employ the historic large integer representation.  As
XEmacs is essentially frozen (and has had (optional?) big number support
for much longer anyway), this should not be a consideration.  As opposed
to the (never completed) Calc 2.0 project of using Emacs floats where
feasible, this does not require bolstering precice arithmetic with fast
but approximative floating point arithmetic but is a wholesale
replacement of precise integer arithmetic.

As such, it should not pose new numeric and structural challenges but
would be "just" a case of simplifying code.

Emacs  : GNU Emacs 27.0.50 (build 3, x86_64-pc-linux-gnu, GTK+ Version 3.23.1)
 of 2018-08-13
Package: Calc

-- 
David Kastrup

Re: Calc; Emacs has big-number support

[Robert Pluim]

David Kastrup <dak@gnu.org> writes:

> Please describe exactly what actions triggered the bug and the
> precise symptoms of the bug.  If possible, include a backtrace by
> doing `\[toggle-debug-on-error]', then reproducing the bug.
>
>
> With big number support native to Emacs, the number support primitives
> should no longer employ the historic large integer representation.  As
> XEmacs is essentially frozen (and has had (optional?) big number support
> for much longer anyway), this should not be a consideration.  As opposed
> to the (never completed) Calc 2.0 project of using Emacs floats where
> feasible, this does not require bolstering precice arithmetic with fast
> but approximative floating point arithmetic but is a wholesale
> replacement of precise integer arithmetic.
>
> As such, it should not pose new numeric and structural challenges but
> would be "just" a case of simplifying code.

Yes. I posted a proof-of-concept patch here a while back, and am
(slowly) working on making sure the result works correctly.

Robert

Re: Calc; Emacs has big-number support

[David Kastrup]

Robert Pluim <rpluim@gmail.com> writes:

> David Kastrup <dak@gnu.org> writes:
>
>> Please describe exactly what actions triggered the bug and the
>> precise symptoms of the bug.  If possible, include a backtrace by
>> doing `\[toggle-debug-on-error]', then reproducing the bug.
>>
>>
>> With big number support native to Emacs, the number support primitives
>> should no longer employ the historic large integer representation.  As
>> XEmacs is essentially frozen (and has had (optional?) big number support
>> for much longer anyway), this should not be a consideration.  As opposed
>> to the (never completed) Calc 2.0 project of using Emacs floats where
>> feasible, this does not require bolstering precice arithmetic with fast
>> but approximative floating point arithmetic but is a wholesale
>> replacement of precise integer arithmetic.
>>
>> As such, it should not pose new numeric and structural challenges but
>> would be "just" a case of simplifying code.
>
> Yes. I posted a proof-of-concept patch here a while back, and am
> (slowly) working on making sure the result works correctly.

Great to hear!  Thanks!

-- 
David Kastrup